Due to the fact that there was no organized system for choosing the next emperor, the members of the Praetorian Guard often took bribes when choosing the next ruler.
Roman corruption began when certain members of the elections started to buy votes from voting-eligible citizens.
Once, corruption became such a great problem that it led to an auction in which the highest bidder received the throne.
Emperor Constantine gave death penalty to those who practiced acts of corruption
Many people up for election would threaten citizens about using violence if they did not vote for them.
Members of the Senate were there just to gain wealth themselves, and often made decisions for certain people that bribed them with money.
In order not to get caught while partaking in bribery, people would often pretend to send gifts to the members of the Senate, when really they were bribes.
Government officials that were responsible for arresting people would pretend to have an arrest order, and say that they would not carry out the order if they were bribed well.
Current Research:
The most common form of corruption is bribery, however there is still embezzlement and money laundering
About 9,000 government officials are found guilty of corruption each year
Currently, Somalia is the most corrupt nation
Even with the Lokpal Bill passed in India, the nation is still one of the most corrupt nations. This proves passing an anti-corruption law will not cause corruption to cease completely.
Corruption in the United States of America occurs on federal, state and local levels.
In Afghanistan, corruption is currently such a big problem that people have to pay bribes just to get into the airport and get electricity for their homes.
In some countries such as Afghanistan and Somalia, government offices depend on bribe payments, and people bribe government officials to get out of jail.
In 2009, the mayor of Baltimore, Sheila Dixon, was found guilty for accepting expensive gifts from her ex-boyfriend, also a government worker.
"Fall of the Roman Empire." Rome.info , Decline of Ancient Rome. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2013.
"Reason Why the Roman Empire Fell." Reason Why the Roman Empire Fell. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2013.
"What Is What Is ANCIENT ROME POLITICS?" What Is ANCIENT ROME POLITICS? N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2013.
"Corruption and the Decline of Rome." - MacMullen, Ramsay. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
"Bribery in Roman Politics." HubPages. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
"Public Corruption a Top Priority." FBI. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.
"Corruption In America." The American Dream. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013.
"Taliban Benefits from Corruption in Afghanistan, Paper Says." USA Today. Gannett, n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2013.
"Peter Eigen: How to Expose the Corrupt." TED: Ideas worth Spreading. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.
Expert Contact Conversations:
Me to Professor Ramsay MacMullen (Yale):
Hello Professor MacMullen,
My name is Raina and I am a 7th grader attending Nagel Middle School. Our social studies class has been working on a project in which we research Ancient Roman and American political issues, and then create solutions for the Roman government using modern methods and technology. The area I am focusing on is government corruption. Seeing as you have written a book on the corruption and decline of Ancient Rome, I was wondering if you are interested in answering a few questions.
Questions:
1) Before Emperor Constantine, which other Roman emperors took legal action against corrupt government officials?
2) How did the actions of prevention affect the overall corruption in Rome?
3) What type of government officials were corrupt in Rome?
4) Specifically, how were Roman government officials corrupt/ What types of corruption occurred in Ancient Rome?
Thank you for your time,
Raina
Professor Ramsay MacMullen (Yale) to Me:
Here are some answers, Raina, to (1) None; to (2), Not at all; to(3) All; to (4) in the most common meaning of the word corruption, they took money either not to do what they were supposed to do, or to do it, so everyone including the officials themselves inside their departments paid to get what they wanted. As I point out, in our recent modern world, the experts say the economy of a nation can be made a lot weaker -- its people have lots less to spend on other things -- where corruption is common. For example, a 10% diminishing of the economy. RMacM
Me to Professor John Matthews (Yale):
Hello Proffessor Matthews,
My name is Raina and I am a 7th grader attending Nagel Middle School. Our social studies class has been working on a project in which we research Ancient Roman and American political issues, and then create solutions for the Roman government using modern methods and technology. The area I am focusing on is government corruption. Seeing as your interests include Late Roman economics and law, I was wondering if you would be interested in answering a few questions.
Questions:
1) What punishments did the emperors of Rome enforce for corrupt government officials, other than Emperor Constantine's death penalty?
2) In what ways were the senate members corrupt?
3) How did the corruption of the senate members affect Roman citizens?
Final Presentation
Helpful Websites:
Roman Research:
Current Research:
Sources:
Expert Contact Conversations:
Me to Professor Ramsay MacMullen (Yale):Hello Professor MacMullen,
My name is Raina and I am a 7th grader attending Nagel Middle School. Our social studies class has been working on a project in which we research Ancient Roman and American political issues, and then create solutions for the Roman government using modern methods and technology. The area I am focusing on is government corruption. Seeing as you have written a book on the corruption and decline of Ancient Rome, I was wondering if you are interested in answering a few questions.
Questions:
1) Before Emperor Constantine, which other Roman emperors took legal action against corrupt government officials?
2) How did the actions of prevention affect the overall corruption in Rome?
3) What type of government officials were corrupt in Rome?
4) Specifically, how were Roman government officials corrupt/ What types of corruption occurred in Ancient Rome?
Thank you for your time,
Raina
Professor Ramsay MacMullen (Yale) to Me:
Here are some answers, Raina, to (1) None; to (2), Not at all; to(3) All; to (4) in the most common meaning of the word corruption, they took money either not to do what they were supposed to do, or to do it, so everyone including the officials themselves inside their departments paid to get what they wanted. As I point out, in our recent modern world, the experts say the economy of a nation can be made a lot weaker -- its people have lots less to spend on other things -- where corruption is common. For example, a 10% diminishing of the economy. RMacM
Me to Professor John Matthews (Yale):
Hello Proffessor Matthews,
My name is Raina and I am a 7th grader attending Nagel Middle School. Our social studies class has been working on a project in which we research Ancient Roman and American political issues, and then create solutions for the Roman government using modern methods and technology. The area I am focusing on is government corruption. Seeing as your interests include Late Roman economics and law, I was wondering if you would be interested in answering a few questions.
Questions:
1) What punishments did the emperors of Rome enforce for corrupt government officials, other than Emperor Constantine's death penalty?
2) In what ways were the senate members corrupt?
3) How did the corruption of the senate members affect Roman citizens?
Thank you for your time,
Raina